


On My Own

by GreenEyedCajun



Category: Fried Green Tomatoes (1991), Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe - Fannie Flagg
Genre: F/F, Gen, Multi, Other
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-10-28
Updated: 2019-10-27
Packaged: 2021-01-05 03:35:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,516
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21206732
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GreenEyedCajun/pseuds/GreenEyedCajun
Summary: Ruth faces life without Idgie. Will she be able to find the strength inside of her to continue on?*I do not own any of the characters. All Characters and locations are from the creation of Fannie Flagg*





	1. Goodbye Bee Charmer

*I do not own any of the characters. All Characters and locations are from the creation of Fannie Flagg*

She lay there, eyes still closed. She told herself not to, but she moved her leg to the other side of the bed. Empty. Cold. It had been 3 days since the funeral and she was still in her black dress, unable to find the strength to get out of bed. Slowly, she opened her eyes against the pain of the sunlight shining into the room. It screamed at her that everything she knew and loved was gone. 

“Ruth! You remember my youngest child?” she heard in her head as clear as day. 

“You'll never jump, will you?”

“Here you go madam, this is for you!”

“If you care about me, if you really do, you'll turn around this instant.”

“I don't want to be selfish is all. Maybe if I wasn't here you'd settle down.” 

“I'm as settled as I ever want to be.” 

Ruth couldn't shake the voices. Her Bee Charmer was gone. She was more than a best friend and she more than loved her. Idgie Threadgoode was her every breath, every beat of her now crushed heart. The bastard, Frank Bennett came around and claims he just wanted to scare them. He saw a figure in the window, aimed his pistol and fired. He didn't care which of the women it was.

There was a knock on the door as it creaked of the door opening was drowned out with the sound of Buddy Jr. screaming at the top of his lungs.

“Excuse me, Miss Ruth. Buddy is just a screaming for you and I can't get him to calm down anymore.” Sipsy shuffled into the room and handed the baby back to his mother. Buddy was in her care since the night Idgie died.

Ruth took him in her arms and slowly began to bounce him. Wiping her eyes she looked up at Sipsy. She could see the loss in her eyes as well. Idgie was like her own daughter.

“Thank you, Sipsy....” she wanted to be the polite, southern woman and say more, but she didn't have the right words nor the strength.

Sipsy kissed Ruth's forehead.  
“You are going to make it through this, sugar.”   
She place a gentle hand on top of Buddy's head for a moment.  
“You both will.”  
She shuffled quietly out of the room.

Ruth inhaled deeply, still bouncing Buddy. He wasn't biologically Idgie's, but you couldn't convince Ruth of that. She swore he was going to have blonde hair. The same brown sparkle in her eyes was evident in his.

“Shhhh. Shhhh. Mama's here.”

She laid down with him and began to nurse him. Her body ached so much from the pain of loss that it took over the pain from her swollen breasts. She felt a wave of sudden guilt. She never wanted to let someone else care for her son, to make him cry and feel alone. She just couldn't find it in herself to be a mother right now. For the first time in her life, she wanted to be selfish. Hot tears began to fall down her raw face. It hurt to nurse Buddy. It hurt to look at him and just see the love of her life in his little eyes. It hurt to know she wasn't going to be busting through the door wanting to take her to the River Club or for another night train adventure. it hurt to even think of her name when she was all her mind could think about. She held her son so tightly as his wails silenced and hers began. She clamped her hand to her mouth but it didn't muffle anything.

If she hadn't agreed to marry Frank. If she never never let Idgie convince her to get drunk and play baseball and poker. If she never looked at her the way she did when she called her a Bee Charmer. If she never sent that damn letter to the Threadgoode's when mama died. If she never got pregnant. The last thought she quickly shook from her thoughts with another twinge of guilt. Ruth burped Buddy and rubbed his little back humming to him. It was the same tune Idgie hummed to her as she rubbed her back when she was tired from a long day at the Cafe.

She looked up at the ceiling.   
“I...” Ruth began to choke up all over again.  
“I can't...I can't....I can't do...do this...Idgie!!” She called out, hyperventilating.  
“You can't leave me like this! I love you so much! How could you do this to me? How could you leave me? Leave us! You were my forever. You said you would always protect me! We didn't anytime together. I need you! Come back. Please, Idgie. Come back.”   
Breathing heavy she laid Buddy down next to her and curled into a fetal position. Before she knew it she cried herself back to sleep.


	2. Is That You?

*I do not own any of the characters. All Characters and locations are from the creation of Fannie Flagg*

Ruth woke up with a jolt hearing Buddy scream. Instinct kicked in and not even thinking she picked him up and noticed he needed to be changed. She sat up and took off his clothes.  
“Idgie can you hand me the...”  
She bit her lip as she felt the tears. Quickly she shook her head and took a deep breath and looked down at her son. He was so small and fragile. They were all each other had now. She reached for another cloth and changed him. Ruth scooped him into her arms and went to the window and looked out. The sun had begun to set. The reds and pinks filled the sky like God had taken a paint brush and created a yet another masterpiece. Idgie was never a church going girl, but she would tell Ruth that God painted the sky just for her. She stared out for a few minutes then looked down at Buddy who had fallen back to sleep. For the first time in days she realized that she was hungry. She set Buddy down and went to her armoir and opened it up. In much need of a bath but no time, Ruth grabbed a pair of Idgie's pants and shirt and changed into them. She picked Buddy back up and went downstairs.

Mrs. Threadgoode was in the parlor when she heard Ruth's footsteps. Ruth turned and they made eye contact.

“I was just..going to get something to eat.” Ruth said in a quiet voice.

Mrs. Threadgoode nodded with a soft smile. 

“There are plenty of leftovers. I'll have Sipsey make you something.” she said as she began to get up.

“No.” Ruth replied.

“No. Thank you, but I was wanting something a little different. I'm going to take a walk down to the cafe.”

She looked at Ruth for a moment, dressed in her daughters clothes. She didn't fully understand, and the good Reverend with his fire and damnation sermons would have not an ounce of wanting to understand. However, she loved Ruth like her own daughter, and she knew that Ruth loved Idgie more than just a friend. There was a true love between the two girls.

“Would you like for me to watch Buddy for you?” she offered, opening her arms to receive the little bundle.

Ruth shook her head.

“I'm going to take him with me if that is alright. Thank though, Mrs. Threadgoode.”

She nodded with a smile. It was good that not only was Ruth out of bed but that she was wanting to be with her little boy.

Ruth went over and kissed Mrs. Threadgoode's cheek before making her way out of the house. 

The sun had set and the moon was lighting the way to the cafe. She took her time as she walked, holding her son.

“Look, Buddy.” she said.  
“Do you see that? Right over there. That used to be a lake. Your Aunt....your other mama, Idgie used to go fishing and swimming and canoein' in it. Then one November, this big flock of ducks came in and landed on that lake. Then the temperature dropped so fast that the lake just froze. Then the ducks flew off and took that lake with them. Now they say that lake is somewhere over in Georgia.”  
She swore she saw Buddy give a small smile.  
“You know as well as I do that is a tall tale but, it sure is fun to imagine isn't it? Oh, I hope you grow to tell stories like her. The bigger the better I say.”

Ruth stopped in front of the cafe. It shut down the day after. Ruth wasn't sure when or if she was going to reopen. The thought of either had yet to cross her mind. She unlocked the door and walked in, half expecting to be greeted by the blonde beauty come in from the kitchen with plates of BBQ and fresh apple pie.

She walked to the back to the kitchen and placed the baby down in the bassinet Big George made for when the women were working. Looking around, she grabbed the skillet and examined the tomatoes. Just a few still had some green on them. It wasn't long until the aroma from the grease filled the room. For the first time, Ruth let herself remember a memory and smile about it. Idgie was learning how to fry the tomatoes and burned them. There was no way to pretend that they tasted the least bit edible. Suddenly, she heard a sound that was unfamiliar. It was her own laugh. She was laughing thinking about those damned burned tomatoes. It ended up in a food fight with a mess of chocolate, flour, berries and tomatoes all over each other, the floor and then on Grady. Ruth was never one to act out like she did that day. However, Grady did deserve the icing all over his face for interrupting what was one of the most fun and freeing moments of her life. She looked over at Buddy. How will he ever know how much Idgie loved him? How wonderful she was? Ruth's attention went back to the tomatoes when she noticed they were scalled. She was the one who warned Idgie about leaving them unattended and here she just did the same thing. Or was it something else...  
Looking up she gave a small smile.  
“That was you, wasn't it?”   
Shaking her head, she turned the fire off and place the fried green tomatoes on a plate and walked into the eating area. The sound of just her footsteps and the plate touching the table was odd. The Cafe was normally so filled with people and movement. Life. Ruth sat down and said a quick prayer and then took a bite. It was awful but wonderful at the same time. It was the hunger pains being satisfied and the feeling as if Idgie fried them.

Once the plate was empty, Ruth looked around the cafe. She realized that this cafe was a passion for Idgie as much as it was for her. This was the heart of the town. As hard as it would be, she couldn't let it die right along with her love. 

“I can't do this alone, Idgie. You know this. I need...”  
The sound of a train in the distance interrupted her. She swallowed hard as she fought the tears. Could it really be possible? Was it just a coincidence?

“I gotta go...”

Quickly she got up, leaving the plate and went to get Buddy. She hurried home and asked Mrs. Threadgoode to watch him. There was something that she needed to do.

Twenty minutes later she heard the train again. It was coming to a stop at the Depot. No one was around and she hopped into the train car and hid until she felt the train begin to move.There were bags and boxes of canned goods all around her. Just like that night when Idgie introduced her to her “secret life”. She stood up and saw the shanty town coming up. Filling her hands with canned goods she felt a small twinge of strength that she has never felt before in her life. The rollercoaster of emotions was overwhelming but in this moment she was doing something that was bigger than herself. This was a piece of Idgie she could continue on and teach Buddy in a few years. The people spotted her and she began tossing to them as they ran alongside the train. She kept tossing and tossing. Suddenly, she saw her. The blonde wavy hair, the big baggy shirt, the unforgettable smile looking directly into her eyes, keeping with the speed of the train.   
“Idgie....”  
The more she tossed the food the stronger she saw her Bee Charmer.  
She swore she heard a voice say “The next stop is 5 miles down the track. I don't want to walk that far back!”

The food was almost gone and the people began to fade. Ruth grabbed the side of the train car and looked both ways before taking a deep breath and jumped off.  
“Towanda!” she screamed. Falling down to the ground with a soft laugh that turned into a stream of tears. She curled up into a ball in the grass, punching the ground hard as she wept.  
How was she going to do this? She would give anything to have Idgie come up behind her and hold her tight. Saving her once again. No one said life was fair, but Ruth would rather suffer at the hands of Frank than not have the loving hands of Idgie ever again.

Wiping her eyes she began to pick herself up and dusted off the dirt. She would never want Idgie to see her like this. This weak. This helpless. She was stronger than this. She found a glimmer of it tonight but it seemed to be gone with the wind. Ruth put one leg in front of the other and before she knew it she was walking. She wasn't sure where she was going, she just kept walking. She walked past the house. She walked past the cafe. She walked past the River Club. Ruth kept walking until she saw heard the buzzing of a few bees. You never hear them at night. She kept walking towards the sound until she was near the tree. She didn't go up to it. Idgie made her promise not to get too close so she wouldn't get stung. She leaned against the tree nearby and just stared as she heard the buzzing.   
“I'm not like you, Idgie. I'm not strong like you. I can't do this on my own.” she took a deep breath and slid down to the ground and continued listening to the bees. Her eyes grew heavy as she kept picturing her walking towards her with a jar filled with fresh honey.


End file.
